Bangalore: Uber-luxurious residential; Mallya also gets in!

The Bangalore luxury residential projects have created quite a flurry as developers like Prestige Estates and Mantri developers go uber-luxurious; Vijay Mallya, Bangalore’s most public tycoon, couldn’t stay out of this too long.

Liquor, aviation and now real estate! Vijay Mallya, the business baron who lives life “kingsize”, is set to become a contender in the luxury –residential arena and this on the same plot that his family home on Vittal Mallya road is built on. A Rs 1,500 crore-luxury apartment plan , this could well be the most expensive residential project in the history of Bangalore real estate. The asking rate per sq ft is tagged at a cool Rs 33,000. There are 75 apartments expected to be built over five lakh square feet and all set to be the new “most-coveted-address” in the city.

Vijay Mallya's Estates Projects Pvt. Ltd along with The Prestige Group, which has a 45-per cent stake in the company, plans to develop a 31-storey super luxury residential complex, with six levels of parking, multiple tennis courts and swimming pool.

Mallya is set to tear down his imposing family home spread across approximately 4 acres of land adjacent to the UB City. This is set to be a 31-storey high-rise super luxury residential building and people are speculating whether its going to look like a giant Kingfisher bottle. But jokes apart, it may be christened ‘Residences at UB City’ and are expected to be lavish 3,000 sqft to 7,000 sqft in size with designer price tags anywhere between Rs. 6 crore to Rs. 20 crore. Another added attraction is that owners can even boast of being neighbours to the flamboyant Vijay Mallya as he will be the owner of an exclusive 80,000 –sqft penthouse that is being designed just for him. But again, that may be the reason why, ownership to these apartments, is most probably a by-invitation-only affair.

Vittal Mallya road intersection in Bangalore

The penthouse is set to boast of a never before seen view of the city, with a panoramic view that will take in Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, and the central, upmarket business district of Bangalore. Whether one gets access to that view, will clearly depend on their PR.

Other big daddies of property development are entering this segment of super-luxury residences in Bangalore in a big way, with projects already underway. Dubai's ETA Star Property Developers (P) Ltd, Skyline Constructions Ltd and Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd are drawing up plans to build multi-crore apartments at a time and conventional trend with Bangaloreans makes them favour budget and mid-income homes. Property tycoon, Irfan Razack, the man behind Prestige Estates, the property developers who are mostly responsible for changing Bangalore’s skyline says that K2, the working name of the Mallya project, is “to own a palace in the sky, with the lower six floors reserved for parking." Constructions are expected to be underway by the middle of this year while the unveiling is forecast for 2013.

Prestige Estates is also busy with its IPO to make it a public listed company, like DLF, is also building 5,000 sq. ft duplex apartments, each with indipendant gardens, on Lavelle Road, near both K2 and UB City which is a high-end retail and commercial space. These are expected to sell for around Rs.7.5 crore each.

The president of the Bangalore Realtors Association, Farook Mahmood who is also the chairman of Silverline Realty Pvt. ltd., a property advisory, "The new trend of luxury apartments marks a paradigm shift in the development pattern of the city, which is known for its villas. People now want high-end homes in central locations, with a good view along with amenities and security." Skyline Constructions, is also in the process of constructing its most expensive project near Resthouse Road a high end residential neighbourhood. It plans to build only six 7,000 sq.ft apartments in single level and duplex with a pricing of Rs14-15 crore per flat.

Luxury housing isn't a new concept in India and the market for luxury residences has always been on the upswing in Mumbai and Delhi, with Mumbai averaging about Rs.20,000 sqft in reasonable high end residential areas. In global housing surveys, Mumbai is one of the most expensive real estate regions in the world; properties at south Mumbai's Altamount Road are priced at Rs.98,500 a sq. ft which beats the average Manhattan, New York prices. Bangalore's luxury market has been subdued in comparison, with most people in the city opting to buy land and build independent homes, even if the homes are small. As the industry developed faster in these metropolitan cities, there was a larger immigration and hence demand for more homes in various brackets. Now Bangalore seems to be the next big destination for designer homes and property developers are quite smug about easily finding buyers for these heavy duty apartments.

Mahmood of Silverline says that, even as recent as the last two months he has been able to close a number of deals on apartments priced between Rs. 4 crore and Rs.14 crore.

Dubai’s ETA Star is setting up a 26-acre residential complex called Greens, in west Bangalore, that has only about a 60% occupancy, but the company continues with its Beau Monde project, which will have 14 apartments, one on each floor for a price of around Rs.6 crore.

Mantri Developers is constructing Mantri Espana after the success of Mantri Altius, a pilot luxury residential project by the developers. Espana on Outer Ring Road has around 440 apartments, including 24 penthouses, starting at Rs1.15 crore and going up to Rs10 crore. These are all 3-5 bedroom apartments, spread over 16 acres of plush greenery. The project has amenities like a 9 hole miniature golf course, tennis court, basket ball court and landscaped gardens. The apartments come as a bare shell and will give the buyers an option of customizing their homes to their tastes.The director of Mantri developer is promising a snob value associated in living in these homes.

While some property consultants are still sceptical about people rushing to buy these designer homes as the pay scales in the city are still a little lower than their counterparts in Mumbai and Delhi. But Urban planners say that with the large-scale immigration into Bangalore as well as a growing expatriate population, with land price burgeoning, it would still be more feasible for people to buy luxury homes, than go to construct it independently. This added with the investment opportunity available in property across India.

UB has such a high debt of more than 14,000 crore rupees and KFA is bleeding heavily. For years Mallya has been spending more than he earns on his expenses, so he is also selling his ancestral home now. What is so great about selling off inherited assets? And who in their right mind wants to spend so much money on a flat in Bangalore?